The_Green_Ninja
8 years ago

It would have been easy for the Green Bay Packers to simply lay down and accept the fact that the Atlanta Falcons were going to blow them out. They were facing the league’s top offense without their top three cornerbacks. News broke shortly before the game that their best pass rusher, Clay Matthews, also would be sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Then the hits kept on coming. Ty Montgomery was inactive with an illness. Randall Cobb was also sidelined with a hamstring injury that has lingered since early October.

Essentially, the Packers were facing the Falcons with a JV version of their defense, and a watered-down offense. On paper, their matchup with the Falcons should have been a blowout.

As typically is the case with the combination of Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy, they did their best work in the face of intense adversity.

Whenever that discussion comes up, it’s easy to point to 2010. The Packers had 15 players on injured reserve by the time the regular season ended. They seemed to lose a key contributor once every week.

Running back Ryan Grant was lost in the first week of that season. Jermichael Finley, who the Packers designed their offense around that season, was lost for the season in early October. That would have crippled a lesser team.

Instead, the Packers got hot at the end of the season behind the right arm of Aaron Rodgers and steady hand of Mike McCarthy. That hot streak led to the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl title.

Today was much like that season. The Packers’ inactive list looked more like a potential Pro Bowl team than it did a list of players missing a game. The Packers’ offense has undoubtedly struggled through most of the season. Rodgers has not looked like the former two-time MVP. Instead he has looked pedestrian in the majority of his games.

That has caused some to wonder whether Mike McCarthy could be on the hot seat if the struggles were to continue. Yes, the Packers’ offense got back on track last Thursday in the second half, but it was against the Bears’ defense. This version is not going to remind anyone of the days of Lovie Smith, let alone 1985.

Because of that, skepticism remained as to whether the offense could be consistent enough to get them back to an elite level.

Today’s game against the Falcons was the ultimate test for the Packers without two of their top weapons. Green Bay started on fire. Aaron Rodgers hit two big plays to Jordy Nelson in the team’s first series. A 58-yard catch was the longest play from scrimmage this season for the team. A few plays later, he found Nelson in the front of the end zone to give them a 7-3 lead.

Eventually, Nelson would be slowed down by the Falcons’ defense. That required Rodgers to rely on his secondary weapons. Davante Adams has been good all season. He had another big day with 12 catches for 74 yards. While he did not have any big plays like he did last week, he was a steady target for most of the day.

Apart from Adams, the Packers had a lot of inexperience at wide receiver. Trevor Davis, Jeff Janis, and Geronimo Allison rounded out the Packers’ receiving corps. Davis is a raw rookie. Janis has never been consistent enough to find time on the field. Allison was just signed from the practice squad earlier in the week.

All three caught a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers. The last went to Janis, whom Rodgers found in the back of the end zone to give the team a 32-26 lead with a little more than four minutes to play.

Ultimately, the finish was not what the Packers would hope for. Mohammed Sanu caught a touchdown in the back of the end zone with 31 seconds to play. That would stand up to give the Falcons a hard-fought 33-32 win.

While there are no moral victories in the NFL, there are more positives than negatives to take away from the Packers’ performance today. If they can get healthy, the offense is beginning to show signs of life.

They fought all the way to the end against an opponent that should have blown them off the field. They have their steady head coach and MVP quarterback to thank the most for that.



http://www.todayspigskin.com/nfc/green-bay-packers/packers-mccarthy-rodgers-best-face-adversity/ 
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nerdmann
8 years ago
Yep.

It's like they can't play a football game without SEEKING OUT adversity. I could maybe count on one hand the times Mike's teams have gone out and just snuffed another tem.

And yeah, the training staff seems to be the same way. I mean, does his team stretch their hamstrings at all? Wtf man.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
beast
8 years ago

Yeah McCarthy struggles with leading... he needs to be pushed to get the best out of him.

After a 1st half where the Packers offense kicked the Falcons defense butt... MM told the reporter that they have to run the ball better (why?) because MM has try to run the clock out, even if the team can't run the ball... that same ol habit has killed the Packers offense and their momentum time after time after time again... and suddenly the Packers offense struggled and they scored 0 points in the 3rd quarter.

Why can't MM stick with what is working and always has to go back to forcing the run to kill the clock instead of keep pointing up points? It has cost the Packers a lot over the years including possible a Super Bowl trip...

MM is at his best from playing from behind, making gusty and ball calls.
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nerdmann
8 years ago

Yeah McCarthy struggles with leading... he needs to be pushed to get the best out of him.

After a 1st half where the Packers offense kicked the Falcons defense butt... Mike McCarthy told the reporter that they have to run the ball better (why?) because Mike McCarthy has try to run the clock out, even if the team can't run the ball... that same ol habit has killed the Packers offense and their momentum time after time after time again... and suddenly the Packers offense struggled and they scored 0 points in the 3rd quarter.

Why can't Mike McCarthy stick with what is working and always has to go back to forcing the run to kill the clock instead of keep pointing up points? It has cost the Packers a lot over the years including possible a Super Bowl trip...

Mike McCarthy is at his best from playing from behind, making gusty and ball calls.

Originally Posted by: beast 



They're never out of any game, no matter how far down they are. But they never really put teams away either.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
The_Green_Ninja
8 years ago
I will be fair. Games where we are clicking on offense we suck on defense and vice versa. HOWEVER... this could have easily been the game we had, as some people say here, a "complete game." What stopped that from happening was injuries.

You can't say this is the team isn't completely seen until we get our guys back. If it clicks just right like I think it might, we could get 2010. Instead of all the turnovers though, we need all the sacks we can get.
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nerdmann
8 years ago

I will be fair. Games where we are clicking on offense we suck on defense and vice versa. HOWEVER... this could have easily been the game we had, as some people say here, a "complete game." What stopped that from happening was injuries.

You can't say this is the team isn't completely seen until we get our guys back. If it clicks just right like I think it might, we could get 2010. Instead of all the turnovers though, we need all the sacks we can get.

Originally Posted by: The_Green_Ninja 



I'd rather have 1965.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
Zero2Cool
8 years ago

It would have been easy for the Green Bay Packers to simply lay down and accept the fact that the Atlanta Falcons were going to blow them out. They were facing the league's top offense without their top three cornerbacks. News broke shortly before the game that their best pass rusher, Clay Matthews, also would [...]
The post Packers' McCarthy and Rodgers at their best in the face of adversity appeared first on Today's Pigskin.

Continue Reading @ Todays Pigskin 

Todays Pigskin wrote:


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nerdmann
8 years ago

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 



Our best pass rusher, Clay Matthews... 🤣
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
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